Liquid Lightning soars at short course state championships

A record-breaking performance and some standout individual efforts helped Lake Orion’s Liquid Lightning swimming team place second recently at the Michigan Short Course State Championships at the Oakland University Aquatic Center.

Liquid Lightning had 12 individual state champions, a pair of state championship relays and 65 finishes in the top 16 as the squad achieved its best finish in the club’s history. This was the sixth consecutive state championship meet that Liquid Lightning has finished among the top four teams.

Liquid Lightning’s girls 11-12 year-old 200 medley relay quartet of Courtney Connolly (backstroke), Reese McCorry (breaststroke), Fernanda Camacho-Castro (butterfly) and Claire Abbasse (freestyle) smashed a 17-year-old record with a time of 1:52.07. The previous record of 1:53.85 was set in 1997.

Among the many top finishers in the girls 10-under group, the girls relay teams also placed well in both events. The 200 medley relay team of Megan Fleury, Caroline Xu, Emma Turner, and Sarah Cole finished second.

Advertisement

Cole also had top finishes, placing in the top 11 in the 50 and 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle. Also placing in the top 14 was Caroline Xu in the 50 and 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley.

For the boys, Andrew Robertson placed in the top 16 in the 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Rio Trichler finished in the top 16 for the 50 breaststroke.

The 11-12 girls team had many brilliant swims. The state champion 200 freestyle relay team, which included Claire Abbasse, Haley VanBuskirk and Ferndada Camacho-Castro, just missed the state record by a fraction of a second. Courtney Connolly accomplished a clean sweep with state titles in six individual events, including the 50 butterfly, 50 and 100 backstroke, and the 100, 200 and 400 individual medleys.

Claire Abbasse earned a state title by placing first in the 50 freestyle and set the new state record with a time of 52.70 in the 100 freestyle. She also placed second in the 100 butterfly, 100 individual medley, 200 individual medley and 200 freestyle. Reese McCorry is the state champion after placing first in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. She also placed in the top 14 in the 50 breaststroke, 100 individiual medley, 200 individual medley and 50 freestyle. Fernanda Camacho-Castro placed in the top seven in the 50 and 100 butterfly, 50, 100, 200, and 500 freestyle. Emily Shores placed in the top five in the 50, 100, and 200 breaststroke events. Rhianna Hensler had top 15 finishes in the 50 and 100 butterfly, and 50 backstroke. Caroline Guglielmetti had a top-16 finish for the 200 freestyle. Other impressive finishes were by 11-year-olds Sydney Stricklin and Haley VanBuskirk, who placed in the top 11 in the 50 breaststroke, 100 individual medley, and the 50, 100, 200, and 500 freestyles. Stricklin placed top 11 in the 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, and 200 individual medley.

For the boy’s 11-12 age group, Daniel Reimchen, as a breaststroke specialist, had top-12 finishes in the 50, 100, and 200 breaststroke.